Brassiere



March 4, 1969 5, JAMES ETAL 3,430,632

BRASSIERE Filed Feb. 5, 1967 Sheet of 2 INVENTORS Emlly James Robert W. Henson ATTORNEYS E United States Patent O 7 tClaims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A brassiere of endless construction having sufiicient elasticity to permit donning thereof by stepping thereinto or by slipping over the shoulders and freedom of movement of the body when properly positioned while adequately supporting the breasts without undue confinement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention Brassieres of endless construction having highly elasticized back sections to provide horizontal and vertical stretchability to facilitate donning and body movement.

Description of the prior art Heretofore, brassieres have required fasteners to permit opening of the same for donning and to provide adequate support of the breasts with the desired contouring thereof. Manifestly, fasteners are uncomfortable and detract from the appearance when the outer garment is close-fitting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to brassieres of endless construction having sufficient elasticity to permit donning thereof by stepping thereinto or by Slipping over the shoulders and freedom of movement of the body when properly positioned. This elasticity is provided primarily by the back section of the brassiere, including shoulder strap portions, which is highly elasticized and has two-way or both horizontal and vertical elasticity or pronounced stretchability whereby the front section of said brassiere need have only limited stretchability adequate for contouring and supporting the breasts without undue confinement. In order to accommodate the amplitude of vertical movement of the shoulders and related muscles, the back section has greater vertical than horizontal elasticity. Preferably, the back section is of one-piece construction so as to ensure maximum elasticity and eliminate uncomfortable seams which may be discernible through the outer garment. The front section includes a pair of lower cup portions having vertical stretchability extending from the apices to the lowest points of the breasts to enable the brassiere to adjust to individual bust depth and movement and minimum horizontal stretchability to provide stability for causing the lower cup portions to lift with the suspensory ligaments. In addition, the front section includes a pair of combined upper cup and strap portions having horizontal stretchability to permit smooth molding and containment of the flaccid tissues of the breasts and minimum vertical stretchability to provide support and distribute the majority thereof with an even continuous pull. All of the foregoing contribute to provide a brassiere which does not require any fasteners and which gently contours and adequately supports the breasts.

A construction design to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described, together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference 3,430,632 Patented Mar. 4, 1969 'ice to the accompanying drawings, wherein examples of the invention are shown, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a brassiere constructed in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the brassiere.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a portion of a modified brassiere.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary, front elevational view of the brassiere.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, vertical, sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 6 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view taken on the line 66 of FIG. 5.

In the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a brassiere of endless construction embodying the principles of the invention and including a front section 11 and a back section 12. The front section 11 is formed of a pair of lower cup portions 13 and a pair of upper cup portions 14 having integral, relatively wide, shoulder strap portions 15, while the back section 12 is of continuous or one-piece construction and has integral, relatively wide, shoulder strap portions 16 which may be of less length than the front strap portions 15. As shown by the vertical arrows 17, the lower cup portions 13 have greater vertical than horizontal stretchability so as to enable the brassiere to adjust to individual bust depth and movement. Minimum horizontal stretchability is provided so that the lower cup portions have sufiicient stability to cause said portions to lift with the suspensory ligaments which naturally support the breasts. As shown by the horizontal arrows 18, the upper cup portions 14- including their integral strap portions 15 have greater horizontal than vertical stretchability so as to permit smooth molding and containment of the flaccid tissues of the breasts while the vertical stability provides support and distributes the majority thereof with an even continuous pull.

The one-piece back section 12 and its integral strap portions 16 have .two-way or both horizontal and vertical elasticity, as shown by the arrows 19 and 20, of much greater magnitude than the mere stretchability of the cup portions. Due to the highly elasticized nature of the back section, the endless construction of the brassiere is made possible. The vertical elasticity is greater than the horizontal elasticity of the back section to accommodate the amplitude of vertical movement of the shoulders and related muscles as well as permit adjustment of the back strap portions 16 to the individual without pulling and without the use of conventional adjustable fasteners. In addition to coacting with the vertical elasticity to permit donning of the brassiere by stepping thereinto or by slipping over the shoulders, the horizontal elasticity is neces sary to allow the back section to adjust to individual back sizes and movement of the latitudinal muscles of the wearer.

Although the continuous or one-piece construction of the back section 12 and its strap portions 16 is obviously preferable, it is noted that a multipiece construction could be employed if the requisite elasticity is not sacrificed. As shown most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 5, the back section is of sufficient length to extend around the back of the wearer to points beneath the armscyes -21 of the brassiere which are formed by the coaction of the adjacent margins of the shoulder strap portions 15 and 16, the upper cup portion 13 and said back section. Suitably finished, horizontal seams 22 connect the front and back strap portions at the top of the shoulders of the wearer, while similar, vertical seams 23 join the front end margins of the back section 12 to the rear end margins of the front section (FIG. 6). A more neatly finished, vertical seam 24 secures the front end margins of the cup portions to one another at the center of the front section 11 with the 3 portions 13 and 14in side-by-side relationship, respectively (FIGS. 4 and The back section has a deep U-shaped upper margin which is adapted to lie outside of the shoulder blade area to avoid protrusion thereof and permit greater freedom of movement, while the front section has a deeper cut and slightly more V-shaped upper margin 26. An internal, continuous band 27 of elastic material, preferably of the soft, push back type, binds the neckline of the brassiere formed by the upper margins 25 and 26 of the back and front sections and the inner margins of the shoulder strap portions 16 and 15 of said sections, while the armscyes 21 and the aligned lower margins of said sections are bound by similar bands 28 and 29, respectively (FIGS. 1, 2 and 6). The binding bands 27, 28 and 29 are of greater elasticity than the material of the front section 11 and of at least equal elasticity to the material of the back section 12. As shown by the numeral 30 in FIG. 4, zigzag stitching is preferably employed to secure the inner margin of the binding bands so as to prevent the elasticity of said bands from being impaired.

The highly elastic back section is formed of resilient stretch fabric, such as Spandex or other elastomer fiber, in a tricot type knit or other knit or woven construction that allows a large amount of stretch in a vertical direction and a lesser amount of horizontal stretch. Since the back section 12 may be, and preferably is, formed of a single ply, it may be of sufficient thickness to provide adequate strength. The front section 11 is subject to variation in accordance with the bust contour desired; but smooth molding without materially altering the natural shape of the breasts is preferred. Usually, the front section is of at least two-ply, and preferably three-ply construction. It is noted, however, that it would be possible for this section to be formed of a single ply.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, each lower cup portion 13 includes an outer layer or ply 31 of suitable thin fabric, such as silk, cotton or synthetic tricot, having relative stability in a horizontal direction and inherent vertical stretchability. A lightweight padding or center ply 32 of polyester batting or other material, having resilience, softness, strength and flexibility, is confined between the outer layer 31 and an inner layer or ply 33 of similar fabric. The fabric of the inner layer 33 is preferably of lighter weight of finer denier than the fabric of the outer layer and has the same inherent stability and stretchability. All three layers of each lower cup portion have their lower margins secured to the bottom band 29, their rear end margins to the front end margins of the back section 12 by the seams 23, and their front end margins to the front end margins of the layers of the other lower cup portions by the seam 24 whereby said lower and end margins of said layers are connected to one another, respectively.

Each upper cup portion 14 has three layers or plies 34, and 36 which are similar to the layers 31, 32 and 33 of the lower cup portions 13 (FIG. 6). The fabric of the outer and inner layers 34 and 36, however, have inherent horizontal stretchability and relative stability in a vertical direction. Like the end margins of the layers of each lower cup portion, the end margins of all of the layers 34, 35 and 36 of the upper cup portions are secured to one another, respectively, at and/or by the seams 23 and 24 which also connect said end margins to the front end margins of the back section 12 and the front end margins of the layers of the other upper cup portion. The shoulder strap portions 15 of the front section 11 are formed by upwardly extending portions of the inner and outer layers which have their extremities connected to the extremities of the shoulder strap portions 16 of the back section 12 by the seams 22. The majority of the upper margins of all of the layers of the upper cup portions, including the longitudinal margins of the strap portions are sewed to one another and to the bands 27 and 28.

As shown at 37 in FIG. 6, the central layer or padding 35 of each upper cup portion has its upper extremity terminating at the lower portion of each front strap section, a slight distance above the normal break line of the breast, so as to assist in smoothly molding the usual flaccid tissues at this area of the breast into a continuous line extending toward the shoulder. Although not illustrated in detail, this extremity of the padding may be secured to the inner layer 36.

A finished seam 38 secures the upper margin of the outer layer 31 of each lower cup portion 13 to the lower margin of the outer layer 34 of the superposed upper cup portion 14. The upper margins of the center and inner layers 32 and 33 of each lower cup portion are connected to each other and to the lower margins of the center and inner layers 35 and 36 of the superposed upper cup portion by a suitable seam 39 in substantially alinement with the seam 38, said seams being attached at the center of the front section by the vertical seam 24. Manifestly, each lower cup portion and its superposed upper cup portion coact to form a more or less conventional, breast-supporting cup which tends to conform to the natural contour of the breast while gently shaping the same. In order to form the cups, the contiguous margins of the lower and upper cup portions are of wide U-shaped and have apices adapted to substantially coincide with the apices of the breasts. Due to the shape of the cups, these contiguous margins of the cup portions assume a substantially horizontal line in alignment with the apices of said cups when the brassiere is donned. If desired, the brassiere may be decorated as show in FIG. 3 wherein a portion of a slightly modified brassiere 40 is illustrated. A continuous wide band 41 of elasticized lace is substituted for the narrow bottom band 29 so as to depend from the lower margins of the front and back sections and a how 42 is attached between the breast cups at the intersection of the seams 24 and 38. Since the modified brassiere 40 is otherwise identical to the brassiere 10, the same numerals have been applied to the corresponding elements thereof.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A brassiere of endless construction including a front section having a pair of breast supporting cups and a pair of shoulder strap portions, a back section of highly elastic fabric having a pair of integral shoulder strap portions, each front strap portion having its upper extremity secured to the upper extremity of one of the back strap portions to provide a shoulder strap, the front section having a pair of upright rear end margins and the back section having a pair of upright front end margins secured to the rear end margins of said front section in spaced relation to the strap portions, the upper margins of the connected portions of said front and back sections coacting with the outer margins of said strap portions to provide a pair of armscyes, the remaining upper margins of said front and back sections coacting with the inner margins of said strap portions to provide the neckline of the brassiere, said front and back sections having aligned lower margins, the fabric of said back section having horizontal and vertical elasticity to permit donning of the brassiere by stepping thereinto or by slipping the same over the shoulders whereby the necessity of fastening means is obviated, the vertical elasticity of said fabric imparting sufiicient stretchability to the shoulder straps to eliminate the necessity for adjusting means.

2. A brassiere as set forth in claim 1 including elastic band means coextensive with and bound to the margins of the front and back sections and the shoulder strap portions thereof which form the armscyes, elastic band means of elastic material coextensive with and bound to the margins of said front and back sections and said strapportions which form the neckline of the brassiere, and elastic underbust band means coextensive with and bound to the lower margins of said front and back sections.

3. A brassiere as set forth in claim 1 wherein the back section and its shoulder strap portions are of one piece construction.

4. A brassiere as set forth in claim 1 wherein the front section includes a pair of lower cup portions having upright front end margins secured to each other, a pair of upper cup portions having upright front end margins secured to each other, the front portions of the shoulder straps being integral with the upper cup portions, each lower cup portion having its upper margin secured to the lower margin of one of said upper cup portions in a Wide V-shaped line which substantially aligns horizontally with the apex of each cup when the brassiere is donned.

5. A brassiere as set forth in claim 4 wherein each lower cup portion is formed of fabric having vertical stretchability and horizontal relative stability, each upper cup portion being formed of fabric having horizontal stretchability and vertical relative stability.

6. A brassiere as set forth in claim 5 wherein the back section and its shoulder strap portions are of one piece construction.

7. A brassiere as set forth in claim 4 wherein the back section and its shoulder strap portions are of one piece construction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,824,613 9/1931 Middleton 128-425 2,538,709 1/1951 Rosner 128-427 3,046,990 7/1962 Dozier 128-490 3,263,685 8/1966 Bernfeld 128-510 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

